The present invention relates to a quick-fit light fixture. In particular, to a light fixture that enables the insertion and retraction of a light bulb without the use of threads.
The use of threaded light bulbs for receipt within threaded light fixtures likely dates back to the very beginning of the art. For many people, the use of threaded bulbs and fixture presents problems. After long periods of use the bulb can freeze in place and require the application of substantial force to remove. This proves dangerous in that bulbs can break within a fixture causing injury, and making removal of the threaded base nearly impossible. Furthermore, for elderly or others with weakened grips the threaded bulb can prove very difficult to manipulate. Additionally, a threaded bulb requires some skill and time to thread in and out, especially in consideration of the remote location of many light fixtures. Numerous examples of attempts to alleviate these difficulties exist in the prior art.
In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,214 (Ortega, Jr.) teaches the use of two interior contacts that engage the threads of a conventional light bulb to allow for the insertion and removal of a light bulb without rotating the bulb. The contacts consist of two narrow elongated bands bent to capture a threaded bulb. This type of design, however, requires substantial modification of the traditional fixture. It also increases the number of installed parts and would add to the time and cost of producing a suitable fixture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,181 (Ortiz) teaches the use of a threaded adapter for use with conventional light fixtures. The adapter uses three internal spring retainers to apply pressure to capture the threads of a conventional light bulb. Again, this design proves less desirable in that the increased number of parts increases the cost of manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,251 (Grzena) shows a specialized solution for use with wedge based lamp bulbs. The socket includes a spring contact arm and detent arm to capture the bulb. However, this comprises a highly specialized application that lacks wide spread applicability.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,025,564 (Blake) shows still another electrical socket that uses elongated contact fingers to capture a specialty bulb within a socket. This application appears tailored to strings of lights commonly used at Christmas time.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,122,848 (Stearns) shows the use of a coiled circular spring, presumably, to provide tension on two flanges to hold a bulb in place. This design also suffers from the drawback of unnecessary complexity that would make the design difficult to manufacture at a competitive cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,422 (Forish et al.) shows a design for a lamp socket assembly for automotive applications. The design uses a complicated locking lug and socket assembly to retain a bulb for use, for example, in a tail light assembly. This represents a specialized application that would prevent widespread use in common household situations.
Other examples exist in the art, however, to date a truly universal, flexible, low cost, easy to use alternative to the standard threaded bulb and fixture design has yet to be developed. Thus, a need exists in the art for a quick-fit snap in and out fixture for use with standard light bulbs and/or fixtures.
An object of the present invention comprises providing a light fixture that allows for direct insertion and removal of a light bulb.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following specification, drawings, and claims.
The present invention intends to overcome the difficulties encountered heretofore. To that end, a fixture comprised of a base and a tensioning member integrated with the base provides a flexible tensioning force to retain a light bulb within the fixture.